The Distorted Man With Pure Truth
by AFortunateJinx
Summary: Yu Narukami is not a normal teenager, despite his appearance he is a cold-blooded mercenary and terrorist. I wonder how the story will change when the caring and understanding leader of the investigation team is actually a detached murderer? Eventual Yu x Naoto pairing because I love irony... Possibly a harem if I can be convinced...
1. War is my home

**Chapter 1**

There is a quote from the American general William Tecumseh Sherman that the vast majority of soldiers, refugees and victims of war all agree on, "war is hell". Some who experience war will live in fear everyday of their lives, some isolate themselves after feeling that they no longer belong in a peaceful environment, some will even take their own lives in order to escape from the atrocities that they witnessed.

I'm not one of those men, physically I'm not even a full grown man yet. I am one of the few who, instead of rejecting reality or isolating myself, embrace and instigate war. War is not an atrocity to me, neither is it a hell. War is a way of life, it is how I was raised and taught by my no good parents. My lullabies were distant gunfire and explosions, running across battlefields and kill zones was my playground, and a weapons cache was my toy box. So to me the quote should be "war is heaven".

My parents are not your ordinary man and woman, my mother and father are mercenaries. They take any job that is handed to them regardless the risk (To me and them). The earliest memories that I have are filled with death and conflict because of my "glorious" parent's decisions. Practically since the day I could walk they taught me how to fight, destroy, and kill. By the time I was 7 years old they had even sent me on missions with and without their guidance.

I had always wondered where my parents got their assignments from and I always wanted to give their client a piece of my mind (or at least a bullet to a knee) for making us move all around the world at the drop of a hat.

One day the former happened, I was preforming maintenance on my equipment when my parent's communicator went off. At that moment my parents were probably in the middle of trying to give me a younger sibling so I answered it. On the screen a man in his middle to late thirties he had a stern look on his face as well as multiple scars from years of abuse. He told me where to go, when to go, and what to do all the way down to why.

The mission was to rig an American embassy building with enough explosives to level twelve blocks. I did as I was instructed and was met with, surprisingly, little to no resistance. I was then instructed to bring the detonator and all other provided equipment to the client. When I arrived he was giving some of the other contractors that worked with my parents, he was talking about how war is what made the world's economy keep working and how the more war we cause the better off the world would be.

Now I don't really care about the world economy or the people in it I just care about the excitement that I feel in battle. I'm only alive when I am shaking death's hand, otherwise I'm just some stoic teenager.

* * *

Which brings me to the situation at hand, due to many complaints and witnesses of my involvement in that event I'm being sent to live with my uncle in some little shit-stain of a town in the Japanese countryside. I don't really know my uncle and I doubt that he knows anything about me, so I'll make this as painless as it can be. I'll just act like any normal person my age and whenever he asks about me and my parents I'll either dodge the question or make up some lame excuse, it's not like he'll be able to find anything out even if he suspects something.

 _Okay, enough reminiscing let's focus!_ At the moment I'm still sitting on the train taking me to the town, I think it's called Inaba or something like that. _Let's see if all my things are accounted for… can't risk my cover if by dumb luck some "fragile valuable" has fallen onto the floor of the train car…_ I open up my bag to see my clothes, hygiene products, medicine, and my phone charger laying innocently in my bag. I then lift those up and take a peek at the cache underneath, all of my essential equipment and tools are accounted for. _I've gotta thank Dad when I get the chance… and see if he could send some more if the time calls for it…_

As soon as the train enters a tunnel my vision goes black, _Am I dead?! There is no freaking way I would die after all this time from some heart attack! Did I get shot in the head or something?!_ As I start to freak out my vision blurs back into comprehension, what I'm met with is not a train car or anything of the sort, _Am I in a limo? I can't be I was just in a train!_ I look around and see two people facing me, one a beautiful blonde woman in her middle to late twenties and a… _Holy fucking shit a goblin! It's official I'm dead and apparently hell exists!_

The goblin tilts his head up giving me a crooked grin before spreading cards out on the short table in front of him and saying, "Welcome to the Velvet Room".


	2. Goblins and Fortunes

**Chapter 2**

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

'… _Wait, what? Was I kidnapped to join an S &M club!? Now that I get a closer look at these weirdos it makes sense after all they seem…'_

"Ah… It seems that we have a guest with an intriguing destiny", chuckled the goblin, "My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

'… _strangely polite for a bunch of sick perverts…'_

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter…", Igor says with a calm voice, "It is a room that only those who are bound by a contract may enter"

' _THERE IT IS! THERE IT IS! THERE IS THE CRAZY I WAS EXPECTING! Also what's this about a contract? If that's true why the hell am I here, Oh Great Goblin? I've never met your creepy ass, if I did I'm sure shit would probably be making much better sense right now.'_

Igor then looks at me with some grotesque version of expectation, "It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future." He then leans forward a bit as if to pay better attention, "Now then… Why don't you introduce yourself…?"

' _I want to leave so badly right now… I might be going crazy because I'm starting to believe this wrinkled old fart… Might as well play along…'_ I swallow hard as I try to remember my own name, when I finally speak it comes out trembling… damn I'm weak, "…Y-Yu… Yu Narukami"

Igor leans back once again, his crooked smile stretches slightly, "Hm… I see. Now let's take a look into your future, shall we?" As he says this he reaches his hand out to the empty table in front of him, a moment later a bright light emanates from his hand and a deck of cards appears on the table. "Do you believe in fortune telling?" he asks and swipes his hand at the table causing the cards to position themselves in a hexagon with a seventh card in the middle.

' _Ok… What the hell is happening here!? I'm probably having some hallucination from my medication, or maybe I've finally suddenly snapped from years and years of continuous combat? One thing is for certain: I cannot stand the way this creep is staring at me, it's like he is trying to punch through my skull with just his stare.'_

Without hearing my reply Igor continues, "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different…" Igor stops and looks out the limo window into what looks like an infinite void of fog, he then chuckles before turning back to me, "Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?" He points towards a card that is in between me and that blonde woman, who has yet to say anything yet, and flips his hand. The card he pointed to then flips so we can all see it. The card depicts a tower being struck by a bolt of lightning, the top of the tower is separated from the base and falls to the ground along with two men who were standing upon it. Igor's smile somehow stretches even further and looks towards me, "Hm… The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent."

' _Yeah, no shit. I'm either going bonkers or I've been kidnapped by a creepy pervert and his mute assistant, I'd say that's a fucking catastrophe!'_

Igor's eyes glint with whispers of intrigue, "The card indicating the future beyond that is…" he swipes his hand over the table, which in turn flips the card on the left of the table over. The card illustrates a crescent moon with a small solemn face, "The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and 'mystery'… Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter a great misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."

' _Again, NO SHIT! The great misfortune is that I have to hide out in some town in the sticks! The great mystery that will be imposed upon me will be me wondering how the hell I'll be entertaining myself for however long I have to stay there! While I am impressed with how you're flipping those cards, maybe next time give me a reading that isn't so fucking obvious.'_

Igor's smile lessens and he closes his eyes for a brief moment before opening again, "In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny… If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost."

' _Ok, the part about me coming back here is worrying, but I'll get to that later… Let me get this straight if I don't solve this predetermined mystery I could die? What the hell, how is that fair!?'_

"My duty is to provide assistance to guests to ensure that does not happen." Igor points to himself as he says this. He sits for a moment before his eyes widen in recollection, "Ah! It seems I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you." He looks towards the blonde woman that has been sitting in silence for the duration of the conversation, "This is Margret. She is a resident of this place, like myself."

Margret looks at me with a somewhat bland expression, "My name is Margret. I am here to accompany you through your journey." She finishes her introduction and curtly turns back to Igor.

"We shall attend to the details another time." As he says this my vision starts turning black again and I lay my head back, but just before I lose consciousness I hear, "Until then, farewell…"

* * *

I snap myself back into attention and I find myself back in the train car. I rub my head and look around for Igor and Margret. Just as I get my bearings I look out the window to see that I've already arrived in Inaba. _'…well that's convenient…'_

I grab my bag and sling it over my shoulder then proceed to the exit. My uncle texted me a while ago saying he would be here to pick me up, but where is that… "Hey! Over here!" I look down the stairs and see my uncle and a small child behind him. I plaster a soft expression on my face and walk over to greet him, "Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo. Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you. Let's see… I'm your…"

"My mother's younger brother, yes, I've heard a lot about you. It's been a long time." I interrupt to save time. I'm tired and I've got a lot of unpacking and thinking to do. I don't have the time to care, much at all, right now.

A small smile adorns his scruffy face, "I'll say. You've really grown. I still remember when you were in diapers..." Dojima then puts his hand on the small girl's back and leads her towards me, "This here's my daughter. Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."

Nanako looks up into my eyes briefly before muttering out a quick, "…'lo" before blushing and running back behind her father.

' _Adorable…'_

Dojima lets out a short chuckle and says, "What're you so shy for?" Nanako, for a moment, has a face of pure horror at being called out before pouting and slapping Dojima on the back, he responds only with more laughter before turning back to me, "Well then… Let's get going. My car is over there."

As we all start heading back to Dojima's car I pass by a girl around my age, after taking a few steps I hear the girl mutter behind me, "…Hey." I turn to her and she hands me a slip of paper, "You dropped this"

"Oh… thank you…" On closer inspection it's a piece of notebook paper I used to write down Dojima's address on, just in case he was unable to pick me up.

The girl gives a light sigh, "Whatever. All I did was pick it up" With her business concluded the girl turns heel and walks away without another word.

' _She seemed nice… It's a small town I'll probably see her again somewhere… Wait, what was I doing?'_

"What's wrong?" I hear Dojima yell from behind.

"It's nothing, I'll be right there!" I yell back as I jog over to his car. _'Better get started unpacking as soon as I gets 'home'… I've got a lot of planning to do…'_


	3. Settling in

**Chapter 3**

This car ride is pretty quiet, not in an uncomfortable way, just silent. I'll take this small downtime to observe the town. Small shops litter the streets and usually have attached houses so the owner can be close to their merchandise. I can just barely make out what looks to be a flood plain or maybe some type of river running parallel to a walkway, just behind that many transmission towers can be seen running the perimeter of the town. We start to pull down what is probably the main street of town, or probably a commercial district, when Nanako grabs at Dojima's sleeve, she then looks up at him with a distressed look and says, "Ba-bathroom…" Dojima gets the message and pulls off into a gas station muttering about how he needed to get gas anyway.

As soon as we get out of the car an attendant runs up to the car greeting us. Dojima ignores the attendant for the moment and turns to Nanako with a concerned expression, "Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?" Nanako responds with a quick affirmative before worriedly looking around.

The attendant looks at Nanako, "It's in the back, to your left. You know which way's left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in." Nanako doesn't seem to like the babying the attendant gave her; she gives off an annoyed expression before walking off mumbling to herself. The attendant turns back to Dojima, "Are you taking a trip?"

"No, we just went to pick him up. He just moved here from the big city"

"The city, huh…?"

"Fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine." Dojima looks off to a place just a few meters away from the gas station while patting his pockets, as if looking for something.

At his words the attendant snaps to attention and gives off an energetic "Right away, sir!". At this point Dojima is already walking off while retrieving a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pockets. I look off down the road to observe the shops when I hear the attendant speaking to me, "Are you in high school?"

"Sure, I guess…" _It's been awhile since I was in any school, but it doesn't really matter, I studied so much when I was a kid that I could probably be in college at this point. I'll be going to the high school in this town but just to alleviate my boredom._

"Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?"

"Oh yeah, sure it's pretty barren…" _Truthfully I've lived in much worse places, like that one town in Liberia. The place had no power, running water, and the shack was just a good push from coming down. Not to mention the "neighbors" were veterans from a civil war that went down in Sierra Leone, the fuckers were tweaking almost every day and there were rumors that during their service they had raped, killed, and cannibalized an entire village. So in comparison this place is practically the Garden of Eden._

Thankfully the attendant isn't a god or anything, so she can't read my mind and continues to prattle on about how boring the town might seem and how I'll probably be hanging out with some friends or doing jobs. "Oh, yeah! Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now. Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student", as she says this she reaches her hand out to me and shakes my hand. "Oh, I should get back to work."

As the attendant walks away I notice Nanako has come out of the bathroom already and is staring at me. As I am about to ask 'what's wrong?' I am struck by a feeling akin to vertigo. Nanako walks up to me with concern on her face, "… Are you ok? Did you get carsick? You don't look too good…"

 _What the hell is wrong with me today? First I'm assaulted by a freakishly disproportioned pervert and his assistant and now this shit? This is complete bullshit!_

By this point Dojima has returned from his smoke, "What's wrong? You okay?"

"I'm fine, probably just low blood sugar or vertigo or something", I mutter quickly.

"That's understandable. It must have been a long trip for you." Dojima shifts around for a moment before looking down the street, "Why not take a small walk, get some fresh air? Just let me know when you're ready to go."

I give him a small nod and walk down the street observing a couple of shops on the main road. There are four shops that catch my attention for the moment, one a bookstore, two what looks to be an antique store, three a tofu store, and finally a convenience store.

I've always really liked to read; it helps progress time when you have to sit in a fox hole for an undetermined amount of time waiting for a target to arrive. Surprisingly it also helps relieve the stress of bullets constantly flying past your head.

Collecting antiques is also a small hobby that I picked up from a client a long time ago. The client said that collecting things that she liked kept her sane, that no matter how bad her day was she could go home and stare at what her hard work produced. So I took that to heart and started collecting the only thing that interested me: weapons. My prized piece is an ignition plug for the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.

The tofu store and the convenience store are probably where I'll be getting my lunches and dinner supplies while I'm here. Not very nutritious, but I have much bigger things to worry about.

Just as I'm about to go back to the car I notice that girl from before, she looks confused and a bit frustrated. As much as I liked her apathetic attitude I think I'll ignore her for now, I'm tired, sick and I need to unpack.

I walk back to Dojima and Nanako, they both look worried, "Hey, I think we should get going while I'm feeling steady, I'd prefer to be someplace I can lie down if this gets worse." _If only I had a family like these two, maybe I wouldn't be in this situation… maybe…_

Dojima looks unsure for a moment before turning back to his car and saying, "Alright, let's hit the road then…" With that we get back in the car and drive back to his home.

* * *

We finally pull up to a one story house at the bottom of an incline, we get out of the car and walk in. As we walked by the side of the house I noticed a scooter propped up against the wall, _note to self: Get L. to deliver my bike and forge a license. I wonder how she's doing…_

A couple of minutes' pass by, Dojima, Nanako, and I are now sitting at their table eating. Dojima lifts his can of soda and says, "Alright, let's have a toast." All three of us clink our cans together and take a mouthful of our respective drinks. "So… Your Mom and Dad are busy as always… they're working overseas, was it?"

I look over at him calmly after swallowing my drink, "Yeah, they're always moving around… This time however they had to leave due to some trouble with the company, you know how internal affairs are." I respond with a half-assed lie. _If anything I'm the one who has to move around a lot… The only reason I'm here is to throw off some international investigation, otherwise I would be attending to my collection at one of my safe houses. I'll have to ask L. the name of the lead investigator on the case, maybe I can kill two birds with one stone. (One bird being the lead investigator, the other my boredom.)_

It seems Dojima has been talking this entire time, but the one thing that snaps me out of my inner monologue session is when he says, "So long as you're here, you are part of the family, so make yourself at home."

"Yes, sir!" I respond loudly, which makes both Dojima and Nanako jump in their seats. _Shit, he surprised me so much I regressed to some mindless grunt… nice one Yu, now he thinks you're weird…_

Dojima seems stunned for a moment before he says, "… uh, right" he seems to analyze me for a second, "… Are you into military stuff?" He shakes his head to refresh himself, "Well, anyway… let's eat." Just as he grabs his chopsticks a shrill tone permeates the air, sighing Dojima retrieves his phone from his pants. Annoyed, Dojima answers his phone, "… Dojima speaking." A few seconds of silence follow as the caller states their business, "Yeah? I see… so where is it?" As he says this he stands and makes his way to the door, "All right, I'm on my way." Muttering something about booze Dojima turns back to Nanako and I telling us to eat without him before grabbing his coat and walking out the door.

Nanako looks at the door for a few moments before sitting down dejectedly. She observes her food for a moment, then turns to the remote on the table and flips through some T.V. channels. _I feel bad for her; she must feel so lonely; I can tell she really wanted to be with her father… she must really love him. I kind of envy her in a way, I mean I hate my parents, if I had a father like Dojima I would want to be with him just like she does. Well, least I can do is make conversation…_ "Well, looks like we have at least one thing in common…" I say with a small smile on my face.

"Huh?", Nanako looks at me with a surprised expression.

"We both have very busy parents, so we're usually left behind, right?" My smile turns a bit sly when her expression intensifies.

"Yeah, Dad works a lot, so I usually stay home alone." Her little face contorts to an expression that I hate seeing, loneliness.

"Hey, don't look so sad now…" I scoot over to her side of the table; she looks up at me a bit confused, "I might start crying you know, plus I bet you're cuter when you smile."

I give a small poke in the side, she jumps a little bit with an added squeak. _Uh oh someone's ticklish!_ We both look at each other for a second, before realization dawns on her face and she starts laughing. "Yep, definitely cuter…" I say giving her a poke on the cheek.

"Hehe, you're funny!" As she says this a commercial comes on that captures her attention in an instant. I look over at the T.V. and see that it's a commercial for a supermarket, just as the commercial gets to the jingle I see Nanako shoot up and smile even wider as she sings, "Every day's great at your Junes!"

After she does this I'm a bit stunned, this girl is so deprived of attention yet she has the sweetest mannerisms I've ever seen. I snap myself out of my stupor and return to my meal saying, "Alright, let's eat before the food gets cold." Nanako nods, sits back down and continues to eat, this time however she is visibly happier.

"Oh god, I'm wiped…" I look over to the clock, it reads 8:45. "Shit, whatever, I'll just unpack tomorrow. I want to be able to take a run and make a few phone calls before heading off to school tomorrow…" I jump onto the cot without taking off my clothes and promptly pass out.

* * *

I open my eyes and look at the world of expansive fog around me. _You have got to be fucking kidding me! Two visits to this place in one day has got to be unhealthy! Wait a second, something's different…_ I take another closer look around and see what's wrong, or more precisely what I can't see. _Where's the goblin?_

I start running forward as there is nothing else I can do, I get a good thirty meters before I hear, "Do you seek the truth…?", in a deep reverberating voice. _Not particularly, I just always tend to find it… no matter how hard I don't want to…_ "If it's truth you desire, come find me…" _It sounds like it's right up ahead…_ I push myself through until I see a silhouette settled among the fog. "So… You are the one pursuing me…" _I can practically feel the condescension in his voice_ , "HmHmHm… Try all you like…" _Ok, it is so on!_

I start punching and kicking at the silhouette and land the first few hits, after a while I can barely see an inch in front of my face. _The… air is… so thick! It's getting… so hard… to brea-…_ That was as far as I got, as I dropped to the floor and passed out… again…

* * *

 **AN: Hey, so I'm thinking of adding some OCs, nothing major just a support role, since I don't think this Yu will be getting any of the jobs that are provided in the game. Also, I'm not sure yet, but to speed up the story I would like to either have Yu not join a club or skip the scenes entirely. So I just need some imput so I can make this Fic more enjoyable for you guys.**

 **Thank you for reading and apologies for the irregular updates- Jinx**


	4. First day and already someone's dead

**Buckle in folks this is gonna be a long one…**

 **All words in bold are in English.**

 **Chapter 4**

I shoot up from the cot I'm lying in and flail around violently, "Get off of me, bastard! Assoon as I can see where I am I'll rip your…!" _…oh, right._ I turn to my left and look at the glowing digital clock, _4:30, huh? Perfect at least I can go on a run before I take a shower._ I pick myself up, walk to the entrance, and grab the keys that Dojima left by the door so I can get back in. I then begin my daily run.

Most people believe that getting up early to run is a troubling thing to do, that they would never get into the habit of doing so. To be honest, I'm not a morning person, I used to be useless unless I grabbed a cup of coffee or some other stimulant to wake up. However, I found something about running after you wake up, not only is it healthy for your overall fitness it also can give you what is called a runner's high, which is so invigorating that it could equate to three cups of coffee. Plus, it's nice seeing the sun rise, it always has a warming beauty no matter where I am.

* * *

It's about 5:30 when I get back, _I've still got about an hour and a half before I have to go to the school. Just enough time for a shower and breakfast._ I walk to the bathroom after tearing off my clothes to shower, after about twenty-five minutes I finish my shower.

I walk to the small mirror that's mounted to the cabinet and look at myself, _… It looks worse every time I see it…_ If I said that I came out unscratched from my years of fighting it would be my worst lie yet. My arms have many small scars that litter my pale skin. I follow up my arms to my chest and back to see some of the major gouges from various knives, gunshots wounds, and multiple places where burns from fires and explosions jag across me. My legs are relatively untouched besides a few burns and stray bullet wounds. I trail my gaze back up to see the real prize winner, a beautiful gift from dear old Mom and Dad, on my neck is a large jagged scar that traces all the way from the left to the right side of my neck.

I push myself away from the mirror and walk back to my room to start digging for the uniform, _this will cover up the majority of the scars, I just need something to cover my neck. I thought I put something in here… Oh, there it is…_ I pull out a black and white speckled scarf from my bag and tie it around my neck. "It's still a bit too hot for hot to button up the shirt and jacket, thank god the scarf is made from a light; breathable material or I'd have a heat stroke." I say with a wry smile on my face.

I must have been up there for longer than I thought because when I came down to the kitchen I see Nanako carrying plates with eggs and toast from the counter to the table. Nanako halts in her tracks and looks up to me, "Good morning…" she says before moving to her seat, I move to the seat that is across from her and sit down just as she does, "Okay, let's eat." She then grabs her utensils and starts eating her eggs.

"So, I assume that you cooked this?" I ask keeping my face neutral.

Nanako finishes chewing her food before responding, "I can toast bread… and cook sunny-side up eggs in the morning." She eyes her food for a moment before saying, "Dad can't cook, so I buy dinner…" She shakes her head for a moment before looking back to me, "You're starting school today, right? My school's on the way, so… let's go together!", as she says this she gives me a bright smile. _HELP! I need insulin, immediately! Jesus Christ, this girl could give everyone in a six-mile radius cavities!_

I pull myself together and give her a bright smile of my own, _might as well return the favor, right?_ "Whatever you say, cutie, but let's finish our breakfast first." As I resume my meal I notice Nanako has a slight blush.

* * *

About ten minutes later Nanako and I are walking down the flood plain, she tells me which way my school is before running off to her own. As soon as she leaves I whip out my phone and scroll through the contacts list before finding the one person I've ever respected. Her name is Luna or L. for short. I press the call button and walk while I wait.

A calm and soft voice picks up the phone, **"… L. speaking"**

" **Hey there, Darling, I thought you would be missing my voice, so I decided to call."** I jokingly reply.

" **S! Where the hell are you?! I've been asking around and I haven't gotten shit!"** L.'s shouts angrily causing me to jump.

" **Whoa, whoa, calm down! Listen, I'm fine, I just have to lay low for a while."** I say trying to bring the imminent eruption of Mt. Luna to a simmer, **"I'm in the Land of the Rising Son right now, some town in the middle of butt fuck nowhere."**

" **Oh, I see… I take it this isn't a social call?"** L. asks.

" **Smart girl… Yeah, I need you to send me a few things from our safe house, ok?"** As I'm walking I reach an intersection in the school zone. I start listing off a few things, including my bike and a fake I.D. when I notice a bike wobbling past me, **"That should be about it, thanks again and… what the hell?"**

"Whoaaaaa…!" a brown haired student on a bike yells as he wobbles off the road and crashes into a telephone pole. As he crashes he is thrown forward on his bike and his crotch hits the handlebar. "Ngh… Urrrghhhh…" the student groans as he cups his crotch.

 _That looked painful…,_ I think as I try to hold in my laughter. Giving a sigh of relief, _I think I'll just leave him be…_

" **S? S! Are you there?"** I hear from my phone.

" **Yeah, I'm here. Sorry, but I've got to go, you know how it is…"** I say apologetically.

L. sighs and responds, **"Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure you get your packages… Just call every once and a while, you're the only one I can actually stand around here…".**

" **Of course I will and thanks again, S. out."** , I hang up the phone and walk through the school gates. As I walk to the teacher's lounge to find my teacher and introduce myself I think back to Luna. _It's been a long time since we met at the "academy" … In the academy we were assigned names that would designate what squad we were in. I was assigned the call sign Sol, the Spanish word for sun. So naturally I was put in Luna's squad… Top of our class and we still competed like mortal enemies, but truth be told I wouldn't want anyone else to cover my back._

I walk into the teacher's lounge and see a man in a blue, pin-striped suit with an angry expression on his face. I walk up to him and ask, "Are you Mr. Morooka?"

The man sneers at me before saying, "Yeah, I am! You must be that delinquent from the city, right?" I was so surprised by his wording that all I could do was nod like an idiot. "Great, come on let's go to the classroom so you can introduce yourself!"

As we walked up the stairs I only had one thought buzzing in my skull, _What an ASSHOLE! I am trying to be nice, but at this rate I probably won't make it a week here without killing someone… thank god I took my meds this morning or I would have flipped my shit…_

We arrive in the classroom and everyone sits down except Mr. Morooka and I. He walks up to the stand at the front of the class and yells, "Awright, shut your traps! I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward!" Finished with his introduction he scans the class while saying, "First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love struck baboons! Long as I'm around, you students will be as pure as the driven snow!" _I don't think Shakespeare would like you using his quotes very much, considering he liked intelligent people…_

As if sensing my ridicule, he turns his gaze to me, "Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student. This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him!" After finishing his little tirade, he motions me forward, "Tell him your name, kid, and make it quick!"

 _Ok, I've had enough of his shit!_ I look back at him with my sharpest glare and with an added smirk I say, "You calling me a loser, you washed up alcoholic?"

The class sits up in surprise while this human shit-stain scowls back at me. He studies me for a second before wilting under my homicidal gaze, he settles for lecturing the class about the injustices of the city and how kids are disrespectful or something like that, I stopped listening as soon as he started talking. He only stops when a girl with short brown hair near the back of the class raises her hand and asks, "Excuse me! Is it ok if the transfer student sits here?"

He snaps out of his lecture before vehemently pointing me to my seat. As I walk to the seat I notice the other students looking at me with a mix of admiration and shock. As I sit down and place my bag on the floor the girl from before leans over to me and whispers, "He's the worst, huh? Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class… Well we just have to hang in there for a year." _Not necessarily, I mean if something… unfortunate were to happen to Mr. Morooka then we wouldn't have to put up with him._

* * *

Class continues normally from that point on, I would run off to the roof during breaks to escape from the stares I was getting from my other classmates. _Seriously! If you have something to say just say it!_ As Morooka finishes the day off with another borderline offensive rant the bell goes off ending our suffering. However, before the class could leave the intercom speakers interrupt the quiet chattering, "Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the faculty office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

" **You have got to be fucking kidding me…"** I say quietly so the people around me can't understand me.

Just as everyone is voicing their complaints sirens blare from outside the window. A couple of students go to investigate and hold a conversation about some dumbass rumors, one runs over to a coal haired girl sitting in front of me and asks her, "H-hey Yukiko-san. Mind if I ask you something…?" Without waiting for the girl's consent he continues, "Is it true that announcer's staying at your families' inn?"

The girl looks away from him and she gives an exasperated sigh, "I can't discuss such things."

The guy turns away disappointed while saying, "Y-Yeah, I guess not." After that he scampers back to his friends by the window.

After the boy's exit the girl I sit next to walks up to the coal haired girl, she conveniently sits in front of us, and gives a long sigh, "Sheesh, how much longer is this going to take?"

"There's no telling." The coal headed girl replies with an equal amount of frustration.

"I shoulda left before the announcement came on…" My seatmate groans, she however snaps back up when she remembers something, "By the way, didja try what I told you the other day?" The raven headed girl looks confused so my seatmate elaborates, "You know… That thing about rainy nights…"

The raven headed girl gives an apologetic frown while saying, "Oh… not yet. Sorry."

My seatmate waves her off before saying, "Ahhh, it's okay. It's just, I heard a guy in the class next door yell something like, 'My soul mate is Yamano, the announcer!'"

 _Something you can try on rainy nights? Soulmates? Probably just some urban legend, I've heard enough superstitious shit in my life to know a bullshit rumor when I hear one._

Just then the intercom sparks to life once more, "Attention, all students. There has incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat…" As soon as the announcement ended many students got up from their seats excited at the news and despite the warnings they voice their want to observe the investigation.

 _Shit… Shit! Did I do something!? I must have, right? I mean there is no other possible reason!_

"Hey…"

 _Did Nanako or Dojima go through my luggage and find my equipment? No, no they are way too nice to do that…_

"Hey!"

 _If not that then what is it? Did L. come to personally deliver my packages? God only knows what hell she brought with her…_

"HEY!" Someone screams in my ear effectively knocking me to the floor, "Oops… You ok?"

I quickly stand up from the floor and look at the two girls in front of me, one of them being my seatmate and the other being her raven headed friend, "Yeah, I'm fine… Did you need something?"

She gives me a confused look, "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah! Hey, are you going home by yourself? Why don't you come with us?" As she waits for my response her friend taps her on the back, "Oh, I nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka. You know I sit right next to you, right?"

 _Does she think I'm an idiot? We've been sitting next to each other for like six hours! How would I not notice!?_ "Of course, you also saved the class from an extended lesson on how absolutely evil the city is… thanks for that by the way."

"Don't mention it, dude, it was my pleasure. Anyway…" Satonaka-san looks to the raven haired girl standing next to her, "This is Yukiko Amagi."

Amagi-san takes a small bow and then looks towards me, "Oh, nice to meet you… I'm sorry this is so sudden…"

Satonaka-san looks to her friend with a distraught expression, "C'mon, don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I've got no upbringing. I just really want to ask some stuff. Really that's all." She insists.

"Yeah, it might be good to start with my name. I'm Yu, Yu Narukami, It's a pleasure to meet you." I introduce.

After our introductions we start to walk out of the class, but before we can reach the exit the guy from this morning walks up to Satonaka-san. "Uh, umm, Satonaka-san…?" The boy asks with a fearful tone. He holds a DVD case out to her, "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see…" The boy takes a visible gulp and takes a deep bow, "And… I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!" As soon as Satonaka gets her DVD the boy runs off saying, "See ya! Thanks!"

Satonaka breaks into a sprint as the boy runs off, "Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD!?" Before Satonaka can catch him he panics and runs into a desk, unfortunately he runs crotch first into it so he is left hunched over holding his crotch. Satonaka opens the DVD case and her mouth falls open, "What the!? I can't believe this! It's completely cracked…" She lets out a wail of anguish, "My 'Trial of the Dragon'…!"

The boy from before twists himself slightly before saying, "I think mine's cracked too… C-critical hit to the nads…"

Amagi looks towards him in worry, "A-are you alright?"

The boy looks up with eyes filled with hope, "Oh, Yukiko-san… Are you worried about me…?"

"He's fine, Yukiko. Let's ditch him and go home." Satonaka says in anger.

Satonaka and Amagi start to leave the room, _He looks like he's in a lot of pain… I can't help but think he deserves it though, plus this is just too funny to help… I'll just leave him be…_

* * *

Amagi, Satonaka, and I are heading out the building while talking about small things like music, movies, that type of thing when this guy wearing a different uniform walks towards us, _What's up with this guy? He doesn't attend this school does he?_

Ignoring Satonaka and I the strange guy walks up to Amagi and asks, "You're Yuki, right? Y-You wanna go hang out somewhere?" _STRANGER DANGER LEVEL 6! EVACUATE AREA IMMEDIATELY!_

Amagi's expression turns uncomfortable, "What… Wh-Who are you?"

The strange guy's expression hardens for a second before he asks, "Um, s-so… you coming or not?"

Amagi looks away from him before answering him, "I-I'm not going…"

His expression twists into a snarl and he yells, "…Fine!" before running away. _Wow… what a mature way to handle rejection…_

Amagi looks at Satonaka and I with a confused expression, "Wh-What did he want from me…?"

My face turns grim, "Nothing good… Don't let yourself be alone with people like him…"

"Yeah, it was pretty creepy how he called you Yuki all of a sudden…" Satonaka agrees with me.

"Yo! Yukiko-san turned down another lovelorn fool, huh?" The crotch kick king says before he makes a wry smile, "Man, you're cruel… You got me the same way last year."

Amagi gives him a confused look, _should that be her default expression?_ "I don't recall doing that."

His face lights up with joy, "Whoa, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime!?"

"I'd rather not…"

… _BOOM! REJECTED! Oh, that was so bad I felt that second-hand pain._

He slumps again, "That'll teach me to get my hopes up…" He shakes himself out of his disappointment before turning back to Satonaka and Amagi, "Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer student too much." After his little warning he gets on his bike and rides away.

Satonaka stomps her foot yelling, "We're just curious, is all!"

Amagi turns to me with an apologetic look, "U-um, I'm sorry for dragging you into this…"

"Don't sweat it, you just watch out for yourself." I dismiss her apology.

Without us noticing a large congregation of students have gathered around to watch the drama that was playing out. Satonaka turns to us embarrassed, "C'mon, let's go. Everyone's staring." And with that I finally leave the school.

* * *

"Ah, so you came here because of your parents' job. Haha, I thought it was something way more serious." Satonaka laughs with relief.

"No, I lied I'm actually an international terrorist that has come here to hide out until the heat dies down. When I leave I plan to dowse the whole town in kerosene and gun down any survivors." I say with a completely serious face.

"Are… Are you… Oh, c'mon stop joking around! You almost got me that time!" Satonaka laughs.

 _Who said I was joking? That's only if I hate everyone when it's time for me to leave…_

After laughing at my 'joke' Satonaka turns to the field next to the road we are walking on, "There really is nothing here, huh? That's what makes it nice, but there is nothing much we can show to people from outside." After thinking a little bit, she looks at the mountains encircling the town, "Though, there is something from Mt. Yasogami… I think our dyed clothes or poetry or something is kinda famous." Satonaka's face lights up after looking at Amagi, "Oh wait, and there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"

Amagi gives an upset look at the mention of her families' inn, "Huh? Its… just an old inn."

Satonaka looks back at her friend, "No way, it's been in all sorts of magazines as a hidden treasure." She turns back to me with an excited look on her face, "It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday. Their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going."

 _Amagi is starting to look pretty pissed,_ "… I don't think that's entirely true."

Completely shrugging off her friend's frustration Satonaka turns to me with a saucy grin, "So, tell me. You think that Yukiko's cute, huh?"

 _Where the hell did that come from!? Whatever it's just a simple question…_ "Yeah, I'd say so…"

Satonaka's grin turns victorious before turning to Amagi, "I knew it!"

Amagi lets out an exhausted sigh, "Come on… Don't start this again…"

"She's really popular, but she's never had a boyfriend. Kinda weird, huh?" Satonaka says her victorious grin still in place.

"C-come on, stop it. Y-you shouldn't believe that, okay? It's not true that I'm popular or that I've never had a boyfriend!" Amagi says with a blush spread across her face. "Wait, n-no! What I meant to say was, I-I don't need a boyfriend!" Amagi whips her head to Satonaka, "Geez… Chie!"

 _That's nothing really to be embarrassed about… maybe she's looking for a girlfriend instead?_

Satonaka starts laughing hard, "Sorry, I'm sorry. But this is our chance to talk to someone from the big city, and you barely said a word!" Satonaka soon stops her chuckling and looks down the road, "Hey, what's that?"

We walk down the street to an alley that is blocked by a barricade, in front of the barricade a police officer was standing guard so no one could interfere with the crime scene. The crowd around the barricade was whispering about wanting to see what was in there, only one member of the crowd had an answer for what was beyond. "I can't believe a dead body showed up around here…"

Satonaka and Amagi froze in their places at those words, their faces twisting into disbelief, as they were trying to piece together what they heard I sprang into action, _I need to get out of here, if I get put into a newspaper it could be all over,_ "Hey, you two! We need to leave before we get into trouble!"

Reluctantly they agreed, but only if I told them whatever I found out (as per Satonaka's request) as I told them I'm staying with a detective who I saw working the case before we left.

* * *

When I get home I think back at my first day, but the only thing of notice was those two, _That Satonaka sure can be stubborn… it might be a bit too early to classify these two but let's give it the old college try. Satonaka seems spunky, stubborn, and friendly, she's likely to be a tomboy due to her preference in movie genre and her athletic build. Amagi is… I hesitate to say sheltered, so let's go for naïve, she also has an elegant look to her almost like she's made of porcelain or marble. I didn't get a good read on her personality quite yet, besides being polite, so it's best to not classify her there, the only information that could be linked to her personality would be her lack of experience with dating or men in general, could explain here distaste for her family's inn as it might keep her busy… I don't know I'm just guessing so far._

Once again Nanako and I are sitting across from each other watching the television as the day is winds down. Every few minutes Nanako looks towards the front door with a pleading look as if begging for her father to get home. After about her tenth time doing this Nanako looks down at her lap, "I wonder if Dad's not coming home tonight…" _I should be dead inside by now but one of these days this girl is gonna make me cry, I know it!_ Thankfully the television distracts me from my pity, _Oh, it seems that dead woman was that announcer woman I've heard so much about…_ Nanako shoots up from her seat with a worried expression on her face, "The Inaba police department! Th-That's where Dad works!"

"Nanako…" She turns to look at me her face still permeated with worry, "There's no need to worry. Your father's a smart and strong man, he'll be fine."

"…I know" she says, the worry slowly draining from her face, but is instead lowered in depression. The news broadcast continues displaying where the body was found and how far the investigation has gone, "They found her on the roof? That's scary…" _At least she was intact…_ As soon as the broadcast is over Nanako's favorite commercial is played and she makes me sing along with her, for a good hour she is humming the jingle, _if it were someone less cute… and less important I think I would have strangled her by now…_

"Hey, Nanako it's getting late, we better turn in. We still have school tomorrow; you know?" Nanako gives me a short nod before turning off the TV and running to her room. I walk to my room strip down and lay down on the cot, _I hope L. delivers my packages soon, I can't stand being in one place too long… and hopefully she can find out who is investigating me, maybe then I could have a fighting chance…_

* * *

 **Oh, man, that was a long one...I know things aren't much different from the game, but I promise the change is coming, I just need to get to the action first. Anyway, thanks so much for reading! Please write a review to let me know how I'm doing (This is my first story after all) or maybe tell me something that is lacking. Again, thank you! -Jinx**


	5. Care packages, bike crashes, free food

**Bold words are in English…**

 **Chapter 5**

I wake to the sound of gunshots ringing violently in my ear. I instinctively grab for the pistol I keep under my pillow and dive to the floor, I l scan the room quickly and find no muzzle flashes, I smell no gunpowder, and I can't hear any yelling. However, the gunshots are still going off with vigor, _WHAT THE HELL?! WHO? WHAT? WHERE? HOW? WHY?_ My panic immediately subsides when I look over at my phone and see it vibrating furiously while emitting the gunshots. _L… You better have a god damn good reason for this or I'm sending you anthrax for Christmas!_ I answer the phone with annoyed tone, " **L… It's 3:00 AM where I am right now, you better have a good reason to call me… If this is another 'booty call' I'll kill you…"**

" **You know you like it…"** she says with a smug tone, **"I actually have a good reason to call you."**

" **Oh? Do tell…"**

" **I'm sending you your package now, but you need to go receive it… like right now!"** She takes a small pause, the only sound still indicating she hasn't hung up yet is the steady clacks of a keyboard, **"Sending coordinates now. I suggest picking this up before some jogger wonders what a military grade care package is doing in the road."**

" **Thanks L., I don't know what I'd do without you…"** I say with relief evident in my voice.

" **Die probably…"** She half-jokingly replies.

" **Just take the complement! I'll talk to you later…"** I end the call in a huff and look in my messages for the coordinates she sent me.

I throw on a simple jogger's outfit, consisting of: a sweat jacket, sweat pants, and a pair of running shoes. I also grab a satchel that has a few tools to open the care package. I then proceed to creep out the house as quietly as possible, I can hear the light snoring coming from Dojima's room and light breathing coming from Nanako's room, _looks like my mini freak out didn't disturb anyone… When did Dojima come back anyway?_ With these thoughts I make it out of the house just in time to see the care package floating to the ground a half mile or so away.

After the short jaunt to the landing sight, I find myself at the flood plain. The package, which landed by the river, was covered by its parachute like a blanket. It was relatively large and was mostly made of wood, so I could dispose of it quite easily. I trot down some concrete stairs that were built into the hillside and run over to the package while pulling a crowbar out from the satchel. I fold up the parachute and pack it into my satchel for further use before popping the top of the box open with my crowbar. I peer inside and with a gracious smile I mentally thank L.

Inside the package I find a laptop, likely filled with the information I asked L. to collect. I also find a backpack filled with assorted tools, materials, and electronics; inside a side pocket I find a wallet with a fake I.D., a large quantity of money, and a few bank cards, probably linked to one of my offshore accounts. However, these items pale in comparison to the last two gifts that I have received. One of them being a weapons case, which likely has my custom gear fitted inside. The other gift is my bike, a custom 2011 Suzuki GSX1250FA, _with this I can finally get around faster… and maybe show off a bit…_

After disposing of the container at a local dump and dropping off my gear at the house I start getting ready for the day ahead of me. By the time I'm done showering and getting dressed Dojima seems to have already left and Nanako has finished making breakfast. Nanako and I chat happily before we leave for our respective schools. After I part ways with her I think to myself, _I'm glad I chose to walk with her again today, I can't explain it but I see a bit of myself in that girl… She's independent and strong for her age… I hope she never ends up like me…_

Just as I'm thinking that a blur of yellow and black flies past me. I look at the blur and recognize it's that boy from yesterday, the one who kept getting his crotch kicked in. However just as I recognize him he suddenly swerves right into a trash can causing a loud crash and flinging himself headfirst into an open trash can. I walk up closer to him as he starts rolling around and groaning, "S-Someone…" _This is just plain pitiful… Fine! I'll help you…,_ I lift him out of the can and help him right himself. He stands up and gives me a thankful sigh, "Whew, you saved me. Thanks! Umm…" He looks me over carefully before he recognizes me, "Oh yeah, that's right. You're that transfer student, Yu Narukami. I'm Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meet ya."

I completely ignore his introduction, "Is your bike okay?"

He looks me over incredulously, "My bike? What about me!?" He sighs before talking to me about the incident yesterday, I didn't really listen, but one thing he said really caught my attention, "… Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place." He looked down at his watch completely missing the effect of his words on me. He turns around and tells me we're going to be late before offering me a ride on his bike.

We arrive at class just in time for first period to start. The day went by pretty fast, I can't say I really paid any attention to the classes, it was all stuff I already know anyway. As school ends Hanamura walks over to me, "So, you getting used to this place?"

"There's nothing really to get used to, so I suppose I'm already settled in." I reply while gathering my stuff together.

Hanamura gives me a knowing smile, "Yeah, there isn't much to do, but there is that certain… something you can't get anywhere else. The air's clean, the food's great… Oh, you know about the local delicacy?" I shake my head, "It's grilled steak, man! Like that's anything special, huh? I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come? You helped me out this morning, so it's on me."

"What about me, huh? No apologies? My 'Trial of the Dragon'." _Uh oh, Satonaka has entered the battlefield and she looks pissed!_

Hanamura gives an audible groan and looks to his side, "Urgh… You always come around when I'm talking about food…"

Ignoring Hanamura's protests Satonaka turns to Amagi, "How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us, too?" Amagi passes off the opportunity with excuses of diets, _which she really doesn't need,_ and having to work before leaving. "Oh well. We should get going too."

"Huh? Do I seriously have to treat two people…?"

I turn to him with a mischievous smile, "Think about how lucky you are, I mean you get to go out with two fairly attractive people, who knows you might just get lucky…" This gained reactions from both Satonaka and Hanamura, Satonaka blushed at recognizing my hidden compliment to her and Hanamura went on a two-minute homophobic rant.

We soon arrive at a local department store named Junes, _Nanako loves the jingle for this place… maybe sometime soon I'll bring her here…_ Satonaka and I are sitting at a plastic table set up in the middle of the food court while waiting for Hanamura to pay for the food, the whole time we've been sitting here Satonaka has been looking extremely displeased. Hanamura soon returns with our food and drinks.

"THIS is the cheap place you were talking about…? They don't have grilled steak here." Satonaka vents some of her anger.

"I have to agree with Satonaka on this one, bringing your dates to a department store is a surefire way to blow it…" I tease.

"Hey! Don't blame me, once she decided to jump on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans." He replies somewhat annoyed by my choice of words.

Satonaka folds her arms with a huff saying, "Still, that's no reason to take us to your place."

"Dude, this isn't my place or anything…" Noticing my confusion Hanamura explains, "Oh, right. I haven't told you yet, huh? I moved here from another city about six months back. This location just opened up, and my Dad was assigned to manage it. So, our entire family moved out here." He slides a drink and a plate of tokoyaki to me, "Here, this is to welcome you to our town. Satonaka, yours is on me too."

"Yeah, I know" she replies still frustrated.

We toast and start to talk about small things for a bit before Hanamura recognizes a girl who sat down a couple tables away, "Hey, that's Saki-senpai… Sorry, I'll be right back." He says as he stands up.

"Ooo Hanamura, taking us out to the same place as your girlfriend? Such a snake…" I remark playfully.

Satonaka giggles playfully, "Haha, he wishes. That's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district… I think she's working here part-time though."

Hanamura and Konishi-senpai exchange a few words, her face seems tired and she looks troubled about something. Seemingly noticing our stares, Konishi-senpai stands and walks over to me with Hanamura at her heel. "Are you the transfer student?" I nod my head, "Oh, did you hear about me already?"

"Not much, but all good." I smile.

"It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to, huh?" Giving a quick look at Hanamura she says, "I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much."

"Uh—n-not necessarily…" Hanamura says with barely withheld embarrassment.

"He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along good. Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you." She says, talking like a dog owner who is explaining how to take care of her pet.

I flash a mischievous smile to Hanamura and reply, "Yep, he's totally annoying. In fact, just today…"

Konishi-senpai laughs as Hanamura interrupts some potentially embarrassing information. Konishi-senpai leaves after she looks at her watch saying she has to get back to work. Hanamura sits back down and turns back to Satonaka and I, "Hahah, Saki-senpai says I'm annoying, but she's even nosier than me. She has a younger brother; she treats him about the same way she treats me."

Satonaka starts teasing Hanamura about being friend-zoned as he weakly tries to deny it. She then sits up a bit straighter and says, "You ever hear of the midnight channel?"

"Satonaka, I think Hanamura watches enough porn already…" I quip

"No, no it's not that! Don't even put that idea in my head…" Satonaka snaps, "You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night… While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen… and they say that person's your soulmate."

"What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful…" Hanamura says with distaste, "How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?"

"Childish, huh!?" Satonaka says with rage, "You don't believe it, do you!?"

"Of course I don't!"

"Well, it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out—then you'll see!"

"Try it out…? Wait, you haven't even tried it yourself!?" Hanamura asks in surprise, "Wow, I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid…" Hanamura then looks at us with mirth, "All that aside… That 'incident' yesterday, you guys think it was murder? Ooh, what if the culprit was still lurking around…? Hehehe…"

Satonaka gives off a face of pure annoyance at his jest, "All I'm saying is, you guys better try it out tonight!"

I've heard a shit ton of rumors of the same caliber no matter where I've been, but this is different, _what if this is the mystery that Igor was talking about? It can't be, right? Why would some magical pedophile like Igor need someone like me to solve the mystery of some magic match maker…? Whatever, it wouldn't hurt to take a look…_

Later that night Nanako and I are eating dinner alone… again. She has been sighing and looking at the door all night. "Did he tell you he'd be home for dinner?" I ask in a soft, sympathetic voice.

Nanako gives me a sad look, "No. He always says he will…" Just then the sound of the front door can be heard opening and closing, Nanako's mood goes through the roof at that sound, "Oh! He's home!" Nanako stands up to greet her father.

Dojima walks in the living room with a tired slump, "What a day… I'm back, did anything happen while I was out?"

"No. You're late again…" Nanako pouts.

"I'm sorry… Been busy at work." Dojima makes his way to the couch, plops down, and turns to Nanako, "Can you put the news on for me?"

Nanako sits down in barely hidden disappointment and turns the TV over to the news. The news showcases a follow up report on the murder of the announcer and has an interview with the student that found the body. The interview was of a very questionable reporter practically harassing the girl on the screen. The girl seemed incredibly familiar, the broadcast had distorted her voice and placed a mosaic over her face, but it was plain to see that it was Saki Konishi. After a few jabs at the local police force Nanako's favorite commercial come on, Nanako sings along with the jingle before saying to her father, "Hey Dad… can we go to Junes together sometime?" With no response from Dojima Nanako turns back to him, "No?" At some point during the broadcast Dojima seems to have fallen asleep, Nanako looks down at her food with a loud sigh, "Geez…"

I look at Nanako's sad expression and with a sympathetic voice I say, "Hey… I know you really want to go with your father, but… I'll take you to Junes sometime soon, ok?"

Nanako's expression lightens and she gives me an excited smile, "Really…? You'll really do that?" I nod while smiling at her, "Thank you, so much!" She turns to her father and says, "When I go to bed, I'll wake him up so he can go to his…"

I give her one last smile while saying, "Thanks, good night, cutie…" and with that I walk up the stairs to my room, _Now, let's see if this dumbass rumor is true…_

 _It's almost midnight…_ I sit in the dark on the loveseat in my room, through the window I can see the rain pouring down outside. It's a very picturesque scene, if I was an alcoholic or a drug addict this would be the scene where I kill myself from depression. But no, this could easily be misconstrued, right now I'm waiting for some supernatural bullshit to happen. I look over at the clock, it reads 00:00:12, _Twelve seconds past midnight, yep it's a scam…_ Just as I scoff the screen glows a yellow hue, in it I can see a girl between the flashes of picture.

Just as my jaw hits the floor I hear something, "I am thou… thou art I… thou art the one who opens the door…" A calm manly voice says. Along with this voice a splitting headache arises and I drop to my knees. As it subsides I look to the TV while panting, _I wonder what would happen if I…,_ I reach my hand to the TV screen. When I touch the TV screen it ripples as if I had touched water, at this I jerk my hand back before my curiosity overtakes me and I stick my entire hand in. At first it's ok, but suddenly I feel a great force start pulling me through, luckily I grab the edge of the TV before I'm completely pulled through and push myself to freedom… which causes me to fall backwards and smash my head on the coffee table behind me.

"Are you ok?" yells a startled Nanako

"…kind of…" I groan in response.

"Okay…" Nanako responds uncertainly, "Well, good night…" Nanako then returns to her room ignorant of what just happened.

… _what… WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?! HAVE I FINALLY LOST IT COMPLETELY?! Ok, let's calm down, calm down… Ok, now I think I know why Igor summoned me, but what the hell was that?_ I quickly snap myself out of my thoughts and lay down on the cot, _Maybe Satonaka and Hanamura had similar experiences… I'll ask them about it tomorrow…_ With that thought I slowly lull myself to sleep.


	6. Mystic Bullshit and Bear Mascots

**Oh, God, I am so sorry about not updating, but life is hard to predict and other ideas were destroying my thought process. Without any further delay, please enjoy and thank you for waiting!**

 **Bold words are in English**

 **Chapter 6**

I go through my normal routine in a trance, nothing registers to me until I'm already walking to school. I hear the light drizzle of the rain pattering against the umbrella I'm holding over my head; a short distance behind me I hear, "Perfect timing! Sorry, move over!" with that Satonaka forces her way underneath my umbrella. "I did have my own, but I saw this kung-fu movie where they used an umbrella to pull off some sweet moves… And… I accidentally broke mine trying to mimic the movie." She giggles embarrassingly. Her face turns serious, "By the way… did you see it?"

"Yeah… I did…" I say with a far off tone, "I'd prefer to talk about it with both you and Hanamura though…"

"Yeah that's probably a good idea..." she says as if she is remembering something embarrassing. We continue walking for a bit before Satonaka stops and looks at me, "Oh… U-Uhh… I-It's pretty awkward to only bring this up now, but… we're pretty close here…" She looks ahead of us f while saying, "U-Um I'm just going to go ahead and run the rest of the way!"

I look ahead scrutinizing the distance, "I did miss my morning run today... Ok, It's settled let's race!" _It doesn't really make sense to do that though, if you run in the rain you actually get wetter than you would be if you just walked through…_

Satonaka looks at me Incredulously, "Huh!? We're BOTH gonna run through the rain!?" She looks down the path then back to me with a confused expression, "What's the point in that? Besides, it's not like I wanted to make a break for it…" She pauses for a moment before laughing a little, "Haha, am I worrying too much? Eh, I'll keep going with you anyway." She steps a bit closer to me and we go on our way.

* * *

School was mostly uneventful, the only thing that caught my interest was this teacher, she was wearing Egyptian royal headdress. She called on me for a fairly easy question before praising me for my knowledge. Besides that, school went fairly smoothly… besides my current existential crisis that is.

Around me I can hear some girls talking about the 'incident' that occurred recently, _I understand that nothing happens here, but is somebody getting killed really that interesting…? Maybe I'm just numb or something…_ As the girls finish their conversation I turn to see Hanamura walk up to me, "Y-Yo. Um… It's, uh, it's not really that important, but…" He looks down at his feet, "Well, yesterday on TV I… Oh, uh… Never mind. Look, I'll tell you later." He chuckles mirthlessly. At that point Satonaka comes to us and tells us about how Saki-senpai was the one to find the body. She and Hanamura gossiped about that for a minute or so before Amagi-san left for her imposed job.

Satonaka looks at Hanamura and I with expectation, "By the way, did you see… it… last night?" When she asks that my hand unconsciously moves to a hard object at my side, just underneath my coat, _I don't remember packing heat today, but this works… It does seem to be getting dangerous lately…._

"Huh…? Uh, well… What about you?" Hanamura dodges her question.

"I did! I seriously saw a girl!" Satonaka yells, "But… my soulmate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means the other girls need to start watching their backs when they change for gym…" I mumble vacantly. _Wow… even when I'm dealing with some mystic bullshit I'm snarky. I guess I'll be plagued with my smart mouth forever, huh?_

Satonaka either ignored what I said or didn't hear it because she continues on, "I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure…" She pauses as she reviews, "Her hair was brown, about shoulder length. She was wearing our school uniform and…"

"Hey… I think that's the same person I saw. I couldn't make out much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier…"

"Wait, so you saw it too!? And we saw the same girl… Does that mean… we have the same soulmate?"

"How should I know?" Hanamura then turns to me, "How 'bout you? Did you see it?"

I tell them what happened to me last night. Throughout my explanation their expressions turn from interest to questioning. As I finish Hanamura says, "It sounds like we all saw the same person… But weird voices aside, what was that about being sucked into your TV…? Were you that tired last night? You must've just fallen asleep in front of your TV."

"That would be one interesting dream, though…" Satonaka smiles, "I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic, if it had been bigger…" Satonaka trails off before turning her attention to Hanamura, "Ohhh, that reminds me! Our family's been talking about buying a bigger TV…"

At this point I stop listening as they discuss TV models, _I understand that this is ridiculous, but come on! TVs turning on by themselves and showing you your 'soulmate' is already some mystic bullshit! Would it really be much of a stretch to think maybe something else could happen with it?_ After some 'well deserved' ridicule we start making our way to Junes, along the way Hanamura kept laying on the jokes and Satonaka was talking about some of the crazy moves she saw in a Kung-Fu movie recently.

* * *

We finally make it to the electronics department in Junes, Satonaka gaping at the size and prices of some of the TVs and Hanamura, going into full on 'salesman' mode, was showing her some of the less expensive flat screens. I, however, was standing in front of a particularly gargantuan flat screen debating what to do, _Do I just… stick it in…? I mean, it can't be that easy, right?_ I hesitantly reach out my hand and place my hand on the screen, _Huh? I… I better not have dreamed all of that bullshit! It just seemed so-_ I didn't get to finish that thought as my hand plunged into screen like I was touching water.

…

…

…

… _Oh… well, then I'm not crazy… I think…_

Apparently, finally seeing me Satonaka and Hanamura run over and start firing questions at me left and right. I paid them no mind as my shock quickly turned to intrigue, "I wonder…" saying that I promptly stick my head in the screen. _It's really spacious in here… I seem to be elevated pretty high, I can't even see the floor._

From behind me I can hear Hanamura and Satonaka having an existential crisis, "Hey don't do that! What are you doing!?" Hanamura cries.

"OH, MY GOD!" Satonaka yells.

"It is really big in here… There is lots of room inside…" I think out loud.

"Wh-What do you mean, 'inside'!?" Hanamura shouts.

"Wh-What do you mean 'lots of room'!?" Satonaka gasps.

We continue on with this for a while before Hanamura says the smartest thing I have ever heard him say, "Holy crap… I-I think this might be too much for my bladder."

"Hanamura if you piss yourself, and I step in it, you're licking it up!" I shout angrily behind me.

"I've been holding it in all day! I-I haven't had a chance to go…" I can hear him groan behind me, "Aaargh! Can't… Hold it… Anymore!" I hear him scamper away before shortly returning, "Shit! Customers! They're coming!"

From behind me I can hear a flurry of footsteps, _are… ARE THEY SERIOUSLY RUNNING AROUND IN CIRCLES!?_ I start to try to pull myself out when I feel something crash into me from behind and I fall head first into the 'portal'. I look back and see the shocked faces of Hanamura and Satonaka before I feel the tug of gravity and we all fall down into the abyss below.

* * *

 _If I get out of this place alive, I will kill these two…_ I think as we walk down the hallway of what looks to be an apartment complex. After we landed, _if you can call that a landing…,_ we encountered a large silhouette which Satonaka and Hanamura immediately ran away from while dragging me with them. Then we found this place, just like the outside we have poor visibility due to the thick fog around us, we've been walking for a good 45 minutes now. Just up ahead we spotted an open door, when we entered it looked like a normal room, _besides the chair and noose that is, but it really ties the room together,_ then we looked behind us and saw what could best be described as the scribblings of a mad man; posters and other decorations were torn and shredded before being placed back on the wall.

Hanamura starts jumping up and down while holding his crotch, "Aargh! I can't hold it any longer… My bladder's gonna explode…!" He then runs over into the corner of the room and unzips his fly.

"Yosuke! What're you doing!?" Satonaka yells with an appalled expression.

"I gotta let it out before I piss my pants!"

"You're going here!? Oh you have got to be kidding…"

"…Hanamura… my threat still stands, if I happen to walk in your piss, I'm gonna make you lick it up!" I threaten with a low tone.

"Aargh! Dude, it's gonna be your fault if my bladder bursts!" _Unlikely… You'll end up leaking before it bursts…_

" **That's what I thought… jackass…"** I mutter to myself.

Just as Hanamura zips his pants up both him and Satonaka start complaining of feeling sick. While it is entirely possible that they feel that way due to stress, it's more likely that whatever this fog is made of could be harmful to our lungs… or just some mystic bullshit…

* * *

We somehow made it back to the place we came in, _now that I look at this place it reminds me of a set for a TV show. In fact, there actually seems to be projectors and lights on the rafters above… This is much too real to be a show of some kind, so why is it like this?_ As I'm thinking to myself the silhouette from before waddles up to us revealing a… bear, I think?

"… **ok… What the fuck am I looking at…?"** I say as I look at the walking mascot costume in front of me.

"What is this thing? A monkey? A bear…?" Satonaka questions.

"What in the world…?" Hanamura says.

The mascot uniform looks at us fearfully? It stands a bit taller before it speaks, "That's what I wanna know! Who are you guys…?"

"I-It talked!" Satonaka gasps. "What are you!? Y-You wanna fight!?" _Turning violent, huh? Two can play that game…_

"D-Don't yell at me like that…" The bear mascot says as he(?) cowers. _Or not… apparently. It might be better to play the 'good cop' here…_

"Satonaka, just chill out!" I scold, I then walk closer to the mascot and crouch down so we can meet eye to eye. "Sorry about that… See she's just a bit scared, as you can guess, we're not from around here. Speaking of which… what is this place?" I say with a calming voice.

The mascot seems to study me for a second before straightening back up, "This place is what it is. It doesn't have a name… It's where I live."

"You… live here?" Hanamura asks without hostility.

"If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache…"

"Huh, throwing people in? What're you talking about?"

"I dunno who's doing it! I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!" He says, suddenly getting very annoyed.

Satonaka then blows up at the small mascot and throws a flurry of questions at him. Just as it seems like she is about to reach her peak the bear runs behind me like a shy toddler. "Satonaka… what did I just say! Be nice, you're scaring the little guy…" I then turn around and kneel down to him again, "You wouldn't happen to know a way outta here, would you?"

The bear mascot gives me a small nod before tapping his foot on the ground. As he does that a stack of antique TVs materialize out of a cloud of smoke. _At this point I'm not even surprised…_ However, Hanamura and Satonaka still were and stood gawking at the TVs. "Ok, now go, go, get outta here! I'm a busy bear!" Saying that he then pushes Hanamura, Satonaka, and I through the TVs.

Before I know it we are laying in a heap in front of the same TV we went into. "Huh, is this…?" Satonaka asks dumbfounded.

"Did we… make it back…?" Hanamura asks equally as surprised. Just then an announcement sounds over the speakers of the super-market talking about their daily sales beginning, "Crap! IS it already that late!?"

"Looks like we were in there for quite a while…" Satonaka says finally coming out of her stupor.

After Satonaka and Hanamura finished swearing to each other never to speak of this again we went our separate ways. As I walked 'home' I took out my phone and dialed a very familiar number, a few rings in and she picks up, **"L. speaking…"**

" **Hey… you're not gonna believe the day I've had…"** I say exasperated.

" **Oh? What? Did your teacher touch you or something…? You should be used to that by now, you know?"** She sasses back at me.

" **As much as that thought disturbs me, it's not even close… well, the bear did touch my ass, so maybe you're not far off…"** I reply.

"… **What…?"** I then explain to her everything, Igor and Margret, the midnight channel, the portal inside the TVs, even everyone's favorite bear mascot, **"I see… You know, if anyone other than you told me this I would shoot them in the kneecaps and rub battery acid in their wounds…"** L. says with an astonished tone, **"…but, since it's you, I doubt you would lie to me… and neither are you that crazy to make believe something like that."** She sighs deeply, **"I also doubt this is a social call…"**

" **I think you're getting the pattern here."** I say with an amused tone, **"I'd hate to get you involved in this, but you're not just the only person I can trust you're also one of the smartest people I know… Together we can figure this out- "**

" **Shut up… such a kiss-ass… you know I've got your back, just give me some time to pack my things and I'll be right over."** L. says confidently.

" **I knew I could count on you… See you soon…"** With that I hang up the phone as soon as I get to Dojima's. I walk in and both Dojima and Nanako are sitting at the table watching TV, noticing my arrival Dojima turns to me and welcomes me home. We sit and talk about Saki-senpai and her apparent disappearance, before I decide to turn in for the night. I need to get up early and start preparing for L.'s arrival anyway.


	7. Selfish Needs and Unfortunate Findings

**Sorry for the wait! I can't help writer's block (and plain laziness…), I just needed to find the right influence.**

 **Bold words are in English**

 **Chapter 7**

The next morning arrives soon enough and I go through my routine as usual. I'm still a bit tired after staying up so long looking for some cheap apartments nearby for when L. arrives. I rub my eyes as I make it down the steps only to be greeted by Dojima already leaving. Nanako informs me he got a call from the precinct so he had to leave immediately. I reassure Nanako that everything is fine before walking her to school.

As I make my way to school I can hear some girls gossiping about the panicked state of the police recently. _Usually when I hear that it means I've done a good job, but now… I don't like the sound of this…_ I think as I recall yesterday's events.

As soon as I walk through the school's gate I was shepherded, along with dozens of other students, to the school's auditorium for an announcement from the principle. Soon enough I found my way to Satonaka and Hanamura among the chattering crowd. "Yukiko said she'd be here after lunch…" Satonaka grumbles, "I wonder why they are holding a school assembly all of a sudden."

"Can't be anything good… for once I hope my assumption is wrong…" I mumble almost inaudibly as Satonaka inquires to Hanamura's worried expression.

"Oh… It's nothing…" Hanamura answers back.

Just as Satonaka is about to delve deeper the teacher with the pharaoh's headdress approaches the microphone, "Everyone, please settle down. The school assembly is about to begin. First the principle has something to say."

At this an old man with a long white beard, wearing a black robe walks to the microphone with a downtrodden expression, _don't you dare confirm my suspicions, you bastard!_ "I… regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you. One of our third-year students, Ms. Saki Konishi of class 3 has passed away…"

 _Damn you… old piece of shit…_ I don't even bother listening to the rest of the announcement nor do I look at Hanamura, I can already guess what expression his face holds… I have seen the expression too many times for it to be needed. Soon the assembly ends, and the world seems a little bigger.

* * *

Later Satonaka and I walk down the hallways listening to the gossip that has spread. After a couple of the passing conversation that were a bit too insensitive Satonaka speaks her mind, "Sheesh it's easy to toss around theories if you're not personally involved…"

As I'm about to comment I hear footsteps behind us, I turn to see a solemn Hanamura walking up to us. "Hey… Did you guys check out the T.V. last night?" he asks stone faced.

"Yosuke! Not you too!" Satonaka angrily replies.

"I suspect you saw what everyone else has been talking about, right?" He nods in response, "Let's assume all the rumors are correct: Senpai being on the midnight channel, the way her body was suspended, and the bullshit we saw yesterday. It all does correspond with the Announcer's death, but tell me what do you want to do about all this Hanamura? Because if you say what I think you are going to say you better be ready to prove your worth."

Hanamura and Satonaka look at me stunned, "Are you saying…? You pieced all that together just by what you've heard for the short amount of time you've been here?" Hanamura asks. He soon snaps himself out of his stupor and looks at me with determination in his eyes, "I want to go back in, for Senpai!"

"That's what I thought…" I half-smile half-grimace at him.

"Y-You guys can't be serious! After everything we saw yesterday, you wanna go back!?" Satonaka yells. "Guys… Don't do this we should let the police handle this…"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Satonaka. Tell me, what do you think the police will do if a bunch of high school students claim that there is a world inside TVs that is allowing for these 'incidents' to happen?" Satonaka looks at me blankly, "They would drug test us… Also, you misunderstand, I don't want to go back in that looney bin, I just don't want another dead classmate." I then turn back to Hanamura, "You still haven't convinced me that I should allow you to go, however I can already guess that you're going to say something around the lines of 'I need to avenge my Senpai', right?"

Hanamura nods, "Yeah, you're right, I need to know why Senpai had to die like that… After what I've seen and what I've put together, there's no way I can just ignore it now…"

I give Hanamura a grin, "You didn't disappoint… fine, I'll help out. You go get ready, I need to pick a few things up from my place and then I'll be right over." I turn my attention to Satonaka and adjust my voice to a drill sergeant level, "Satonaka! If you still intend to persuade him to stop I suggest you do that now!"

Satonaka snaps to attention and gives a stiff salute by instinct. I chuckle and leave for home. _If I'm going into hell I might as well bring hell with me…_

* * *

I soon find myself in the electronics department of Junes staring at something just plain pathetic. In front of me Hanamura is holding a golf club and at least thirty feet of rope. Satonaka seems to have waited for me as well and makes herself known by walking up next to me as I approach Hanamura. **"What the fuck is this shit? He seemed to be reliable back at school, but now… fuck it, might as well go through with it, I don't have much to live for anyway…"** I say as I rub my temples.

Seeing my arrival Hanamura snaps to attention, "You guys came…!"

"I came to stop you, Idiot!" Satonaka yells frustrated. "Come on… You really shouldn't do this. It's too dangerous."

"I know, but we came back once, right? If we go in the same place maybe, we'll meet that bear again…" Hanamura responds dead serious.

"That's some failed logic, Hanamura…" I facepalm.

"Maybe isn't good enough!" Satonaka yells once more.

"Hanamura, I realize you can't just back down from this, but that doesn't excuse ignorance to danger. Do you think Konishi-san would approve of you dying for no good reason?" Hanamura's face turns desperate as I say that. I push out a long sigh, "If I take you in there you stay safe, no fucking around… or I'll kill you before whatever that bear was scared of does…" Hanamura and Satonaka's faces pale as I say that, but soon return to normal or in Hanamura's case take on a more determined glow. "Before we go though, I think Satonaka should remain here. Not that I doubt your physical ability, but you are in no state of mind to go along with this."

"It will just be you and me, huh?" Hanamura mulls that over. "Alright! Don't worry Chie, I'm not going in without a plan. Here, I'm leaving you in charge of this." As Hanamura says this he hand Satonaka the rope that is tied around himself.

"Huh, what's that? A rope…?" Satonaka holds it quizzically.

"We'll go in with this tied to me, so I want you to hold on to this and wait here." Hanamura says.

"Wh-what? Then this is a lifeline? Come on, hold up…" Satonaka pleads.

"Satonaka, look at me…" I say in a gentle voice. She stares at me with panic and confusion evident on her face. "I know this is a bit much for you right now, but we need you to be strong, ok. Sorry for being so unreasonable, but I'll make it up to you later…" Satonaka nods, but still has a small amount of fear on her face.

"Now that that's settled, Yu, take this." Hanamura gestures to the golf club in his hand.

"I have no need for that, I brought my own stuff." I say as I gesture to a backpack I have on.

"Oh, ok, what do you have in there?" Hanamura questions. I shake my head and point at the TV screen. "Whatever… Let's go. No use in wasting any more time." With that said we walk through the screen and fall to the ground below. "Owww… Is this…?" Hanamura says as he looks at the world around us, confirming that we landed in the same place as last time.

"It is… and look at who is also here…" I say pointing to the outline of a bear costume in the fog.

"Y-You guys… Why'd you come back!? I get it! You must be the ones behind this!" The bear yells.

"What the hell did you just say!?" rages Hanamura.

The bear ignores Hanamura's outburst and turns around striking a pose you would expect from a shounen manga, "Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here. It's making this world more and more messed up." The bear then turns around to face us, "This is the second-time you guys came here. And I don't think anyone forced you in. That means you are the most suspicious! You guys must be the ones throwing people in here, rawr!"

I ignore this conversation and start rifling through my back pack Hanamura, however, questions the bear about the world before coming upon the most obvious part of this whole cluster fuck, "All this talk of throwing people in here… Does that mean Senpai and the Announcer?" he says finally piecing it together.

"Yes, Hanamura, they were killed… It took you that long to figure out this shit isn't an accident…? Really? **Jesus Christ and all that is holy I want to smack some logic right into that thick thing you call a skull!"** I shout exasperated.

"Uh, what? Dude, I have no idea what you just said… was that English…?" Hanamura mumbles. _Not even a minute and he forgets why we're here… I should have just taken a dog or something in here instead, a dog would at least be useful…_

Apparently, fed up with being kept out of the loop the bear mascot makes himself known, "What're you guys mumbling about? Why'd you guys come in here anyway!? It's a one-way door! Once you get in you can't get out! Remember how I had to let you guys out?"

Hanamura, fed up with the verbal display yells back, "Yeah, whatever! We don't need your help! This time we have a lifeline see!" Hanamura then gestures to the broken rope tied around his waist.

"Oh, yeah. Hanamura, the rope snapped a while back, forgot to tell ya…" I say snidely as Hanamura stares emptily at the broken rope. I turn to the mascot with a compassionate mask on my face, "Hey, I know you don't trust either of us. I understand, if two weirdos fell from my ceiling and said they were on my side, I think I would be pretty skeptical as well. But as you said if we were throwing people in here knowing they couldn't leave why would we come in in the first place? This whole thing seems to be a big problem for you, am I right?"

"Yeah, it's a beary big problem…" replies the mascot. _Ew, puns…_

"Well how about this, you help us investigate this world so we can figure out who is doing this in exchange when we find the culprit we'll make them stop messing up your world?" I propose my mask of compassion still holding on tight. _I should add con-man to my ridiculous resume…_

"Wait! Hold up, man! How do we know he's not the one doing all of this!? Why is he even wearing that ridiculous suit, take it off!" Before I can say anything Hanamura in blind rage rushes the small mascot. In a quick movement, he grabs the head of the mascot and rips it off revealing it to be… empty…? "Whoa! What the hell are you!?"

"That's… that's something alright…" I say as the mascot blindly searches for its head, so I move over; grab the disembodied 'head' and place it over the 'neck' of the mascot.

"Whoa… thanks, nice guy…" the mascot mumbles. He soon turns back to Hanamura after rearranging himself, "Me…? The culprit…? I wouldn't do such a thing…" Soon enough their argument starts up again with renewed vigor, completely ignoring the fact that his face was just forcibly removed.

After a while of the bear and Hanamura going back and forth both accusing each other with half-baked insults and poorly thought out excuses I started rummaging through my bag again. Each of my movements methodical, almost robotic, due to the familiarity of the items inside. First I pull out my uniform which consisted of some basic combat boots, black, flexible pants for easy movement, a form fitting black tank top, and multiple straps and holsters. Next item to be unveiled is my pair of G18's which I place in my side holsters. After that my hands find my Five-Seven which I place on top of my uniform instead of the waist holster along with two stun grenades. Finally, I get to my favorite addition to my equipment, my Ka-Bar, the all you can need tool straight from the marine corp. After unpacking everything, I look at the bear and Hanamura who seem to be getting along… for the most part.

"Might as well introduce ourselves… I'm Yosuke Hanamura, and this is my buddy Yu Narukami." He says without even turning in my direction, "You got a name?"

"…Teddie." The bear says without even pausing.

"Heh… Figures…" Hanamura chuckles.

"If you boys are about done with the meet-n-greet I need some privacy…" I say with a teasing tone.

"Huh…? What're you…? Waah! DUDE, WHAT'S ALL THIS!?" Hanamura screams.

"Equipment. Now, Leave." I say in a commanding voice. "Or do you want to watch me strip? I didn't think you would swing that way…"

"AAAAAHHHH AAAHH I CAN'T HEAR YOU! C'MON TEDDIE, WE NEED TO LEAVE! NOW!" Hanamura panics and takes Teddie by the paw leading him away from the platform I'm on. _Really…? Haven't you ever had to change your clothes in front of another guy before? Weird…_

* * *

A couple minutes later I'm done changing and I, somehow, met up with Hanamura and Teddie. Hanamura runs up to me and shoves something into my hands. I look at it and see it's a pair of steel grey rimmed glasses, I give Hanamura a questioning glare, but he has already turned back to Teddie. I reluctantly put the glasses on and look around, " **What the hell…?"** , all of the fog that was previously obscuring my vision is suddenly cleared making way for what looks like an exact model of the north shopping district.

"With these glasses it's like the fog doesn't even exist!" Hanamura exclaims, "Whoa… What are you wearing man… wait, are those guns!?"

"Does it matter? You want answers and I want you to come back alive." I respond.

"Whoa… thanks man, hey Teddie says he's gonna support us from a distance, can you believe that?"

"Smart move… if he accidentally gets in my way I could kill him, I don't want our way out of here being blown apart because he thought he could play hero." I say frigidly.

"Whoa… that's cold… Anyway, what's up with this place? It looks exactly like the shopping district… Teddie said something about 'this being the reality for the one who's here', but that doesn't really make sense…" Hanamura says, "Actually we're not far from Saki-senpai's…" Just then Hanamura breaks into a sprint down the road. _I don't like this… Something is really off here… besides the obvious, of course…_ I find him in front of a small shop glaring critically at the sign. He turns to me with an anxious face, "I knew it…! This is the liquor store Senpai's parents run. Does this mean… Senpai disappeared here? What could have happened?"

"W-Wait a second! Th-They're here!" I hear Teddie yell behind me. "…Shadows. I had a feeling they were gonna attack!"

I look towards the black and red spiral that passes as a door to the small shop and see two blue masks start to protrude out of it. The masks then fall to the concrete and create a body of gelatinous black slime. Yosuke falls backwards in fright as the slimes advance on him, but before they get too far they start to levitate and soon harden into balls. The balls rotate revealing a huge gaping mouth with a large tongue hanging out. Before I can reach for my Five-Seven my head feels like it's tearing in two, I clutch my head in pain as a familiar voice echoes through my skull, _**"I AM THOU. THOU ART I. THE TIME HAS COME. OPEN THINE EYES AND BEHOLD WHAT IS WITHIN!"**_ I stare down at my once empty hand and find a card. _I've seen this before… it was in that room, right…?_ I flip the card over and a blinding white light shines magnificently in the dark surroundings, without thinking I open my mouth, "Per… So… Na…" When I finish speaking the light intensifies until it becomes a brilliant blue flame, I stare at it with gleeful curiosity before snuffing it in my fist. The sound of glass breaking accompanies the large figure that looms behind me, I turn and look at the figure. The figure is a man, if that codpiece is any clue, with black dress pants, a dark grey shirt, a black trench coat with a red lining, he wields a large spear, and his face is concealed by a metallic mask. He looks down at me reverently before he disappears entirely. As his form recedes into the ether a name imprints itself into my mind: Izanagi.

I look up from my hand that held the azure flames from before and smirk manically at the twitching globs of flesh before me, "…Well, that's new… So, which one of you dies first…?" I ask blandly.

"Stay calm and listen!" I hear Teddie's voice from behind, "Some shadows have weaknesses. If you can pinpoint and take advantage of it, the battle will be a lot easier!" Teddie takes a moment to stare at the blobs critically, "I can tell this one has a weakness, too!"

"Yes, I've found all things are deathly weak against copper at high speeds…" I say as I whip out my Five-Seven and fire at the levitating blobs. When the bullets hit them they punctured and knocked them back a foot or two, _…that's new… Ok, so normal methods seem to be less effective… maybe I could try my new friend…?_ I think as I retreat a few steps.

The blobs, who apparently don't take too kindly to attempted murder, charge me with their gigantic maws gaping. Before they get too close, however, I shout my new "friend's" name, "IZANAGI!". As I shout for him lighting descends from the sky and strikes both of the blobs causing them to collapse to the ground quivering; taking the chance given to me I unsheathe my Ka-Bar and mount one of the blobs and proceed to stab at its head mercilessly. Soon the blob stops quivering and loses form entirely becoming a puddle of black sludge on the ground. Remembering the other blob, I turn my attention to where it should be and see its form impaled upon Izanagi's spear before turning to sludge. Releasing a sigh of relief, I stand up and nod my head to Izanagi who returns the nod before disappearing once again. Before I can turn back to Teddie and Hanamura I hear his voice in my head, **"You have not faced your true self yet, boy… I will continue to assist you, but this is not over… I am creating your trial as we speak…."** he warns. _My true self...? Trial…? What…?_

With the battle finished I turn to my wonderfully useless companions. Hanamura is the first to address me, "Whoa… Wh-what was that!?" he asks with a frightened awe. "Did I just hear you say 'Persona'!? What was it… I mean, what did you do!?" He looks me straight in the eyes with an excited expression, "Hey, you think I can do it, too…?"

Apparently sensing my discomfort Teddie waddles over and reprimands him, "Calm down, Yosuke. You're troubling Sensei!" _Wait… What…?_

"S-Sensei?" Hanamura says mirroring my confusion.

"Gosh almighty! You're amazing Sensei! I am one impressed bear!" Teddie joyfully exclaims, totally ignoring Hanamura's confusion. "I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the shadows were scared of you!" Teddie then pauses and releases an astonished gasp, "Are you the one who's able to bring people into this world?" I just nod and go back to looking around, "Hah! That's what I thought! This is really something." Teddie turns to Hanamura, "Don't you think so, Yosuke?"

Hanamura responds by pushing Teddie onto the ground, "Dude, you call him Sensei and then don't show me any respect!?" _To garner respect, I believe you have to do something to earn it first, Hanamura…_

Teddie looks at the ground mournfully and mutters an apology as I turn to the black and red spiraling door, "Ok… That's enough screwing around, as much fun as that was I don't take kindly to wasting precious time. We've got a job to do, so let's finish it."

Hanamura gives me a grateful look and says, "Yeah, you're right let's get this do…" However, before he could finish voices permeate the air.

"I wish Junes would go under…" The voice says echoing from all around us, "It's all because of that store…"

"Wh-What?" Hanamura whimpers from beside me.

"Oh, I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there." Another voice gossips.

"Oh my… How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is…?" A third voice replies.

"I heard their sales have gone downhill because of Junes." The second voice informs.

"S-Stop it…" Hanamura weakly protests. However, almost as if the voices heard his pleas they respond with more and more whispers. "Hey… Hey, Ted! You said that this place is reality for those that are here, right!?" He asks angrily, "So… Does that mean this was Senpai's reality when she wandered in here…?"

"Hanamura, how would he know what her life was like? Also, I highly doubt she 'wandered' in here…" I reply tiredly.

"Fine… Whatever's going on in here… We'll find out for ourselves!" Hanamura responds undeterred.

After we rushed through the spiral 'door' we found ourselves in an enormous room absolutely overwhelmed with alcohol and other 'adult beverages'. _It's so much larger in here than it was outside! How is that even… Why am I even questioning these things anymore…?_ The only thing that remained a constant was the whispers of chastising and depression. The whispers continued on as we examined the room only adding to the already tense demeanor that Hanamura is displaying.

We soon find a table filled with pictures of Konishi-san that are cut up and ripped at every given point. Just as I'm about to make Hanamura leave we hear a familiar voice echo from the darkness, "I… I never had the chance to say it…"

Hanamura visibly winces, "Is that… Senpai's voice!?"

"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…" Konishi-san's voice mournfully recounts.

"H-Huh? Me…?"

"…that he was a real pain in the ass!" At her words Hanamura crumples in on himself, "I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all… But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic… what a dip."

"P-Pain in the ass…?" Hanamura asks with his voice laced with hurt.

Uncaring to the pain she's causing Hanamura she continues, "Who cares about Junes, anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk about me behind my back… I wish everything would just disappear…"

"I-It's a lie… It has to be…" Hanamura says near tears, "Senpai's not like that…!"

"It's so sad… I feel so bad for myself… Boo Hoo…" Hanamura says?

"What the hell!" I exclaim as both me and Hanamura whirl around to see a second Hanamura standing there with a sardonic grin stretched across his face.

"Two Yosukes?!" Teddie is just as surprised about the doppelganger.

"Actually, I'm the one who thinks everything's a pain in the ass…" The doppelganger laughs.

"Who are you!?" Hanamura yells as he pushes past me, "I-I wouldn't think that…"

The doppelganger seems to laugh harder at this, "Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself?" Its face takes on a darker tone and the dark aura it emits intensifies, "Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!"

Hanamura shudders at the… thing's words, I can see him looking nervously back at me, "What're you saying…? That's not true, I- "

"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone." The doppelganger opens its arms wide, "The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation." It then develops a knowing look, "And what's this about checking this world out for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping…"

"S-Stop it!" Hanamura fearfully interrupts.

The doppelganger hunches over in laughter, "Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! OR maybe… I DO know everything they're thinking! Why's that…? Because I am you!" It then takes on a more insulting tone, "You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do in this shithole? A world inside the TV… Now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?"

Hanamura slumps his shoulders and hangs his head, "That's not true… Stop… Stop it…"

The doppelganger's posture turns hostile really quick, "You're just trying to act like a big shot… If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!"

 _This is going nowhere… I mean, the shock of seeing that thing has already past… I suppose I should be angry with Hanamura for dragging me in here for such a selfish reason, but can I really blame him? Boredom is something I can't stand either, plus…He's using a tool… A tool has no refutes for being used, it's what they're for…_

During my inner monologue Hanamura and his clone seem to have escalated their argument as Hanamura is in a hostile pose as well, "What are you!? Who are you!?" Hanamura screams.

The doppelganger chuckles lowly, "I already told ya… I'm you… You're Shadow… There's nothing I don't know about you!"

"Screw that! I don't know you!" Hanamura rages back, "You can't be me, you son of a bitch!"

Hanamura's 'Shadow' laughs hysterically at that, "That's right, say it again!"

"…You're not me… You're nothing like me!" Hanamura responds weakly.

"Yeah, that's right… I am me now… I'm not you anymore, see?" The shadow glows a bright light just as Izanagi had. Seeing this Hanamura starts backing away before roughly falling to the floor. Whatever had happened to the shadow in that light was drastic, because when the light dimmed what was left was nothing like what was before. Instead of a doppelganger standing in front of me I see a giant… ninja… disco frog? _Ok, seriously… WHAT THE FUCK!_

Ignoring my surprise the frog thing lumbers forward towards me, "I am a Shadow… The true self… I'll crush everything that bores me… Starting with you!" _There's that thing with a true self again… DOES THAT MEAN IZANAGI IS GOING TO TRANSFORM INTO AN EMO FROG!? Whatever… It's time to focus…_

"The same goes to you, slimy…" I answer hoarsely. "Teddie… get Hanamura away from me before he dies…"

"H-Hai, Sensei!" I hear Teddie squeak.

"Take this!" The shadow yells as it belly flops causing a gale to be blasted towards me. Following my instincts, I dive out of the way just in time, I look behind me and see the wind demolish an entire isle of liquor causing it to spray everywhere. _That gives me an idea actually…_

Dropping low to the ground I pull the pin on one of my stun grenades, just as Hanamura's shadow readies itself for another attack I throw the grenade above me, while covering my own eyes, causing it to explode in midair. The shadow lumbers backwards as it screams, due to its temporary blindness, and collapses to the floor. Immediately, I rush the isles grabbing whatever looks to be of high proof and throwing them at or near the disco frog. As soon as it starts to regain its bearings I take one last bottle from the shelf and sprint to the collapsed shadow, I climb its arm before jumping next to its flailing humanoid torso. It shakes its body trying to throw me off of it, however I smash the liquor over its head disorienting it, I smile as I see its entire body almost drenched in liquor.

"GET OFF ME, YOU LOSER!" It screams the distorted voice of Hanamura.

I summon Izanagi's card and let it float in my hand leisurely while listening to the shadow's angry jeers. "Gladly…" I say as I jump off the front of it, while I fall I spin around with my Five-Seven in hand and fire through Izanagi's card causing it to shatter while also hitting Hanamura's shadow in the face. I feel Izanagi's large, black arms catch me before I hit the ground; I look up at him and smile mischievously. "Do it…", on my order Izanagi calls lightning down from the sky causing it to strike Hanamura's shadow. Its screams become a sweet melody to my victory…

Placing me on the ground, Izanagi turns to look at the disco frog; following his gaze I find Hanamura's shadow back in its human form splayed across the floor, _that just makes things easier…_ I think with morbid fascination. However, before I can finish it I hear Hanamura approaching from behind, "I…I…"

Teddie checks Hanamura for injuries, "Yosuke! Are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah… What… Happened…?" Hanamura asks clearly shaken which soon turns to guilt as he spots his shadow which has been eyeing silently him for a while. "You… You're… not me…"

"That thing came from you, Yosuke…" Teddie sadly informs him, "You'll have to admit it… or it'll go berserk again…"

Hanamura wilts as he hears Teddie's news. _Maybe I'll cut him a little slack… when did I become so nice…?_ "Hanamura, we all have thoughts like that. But that doesn't change who we are… You are still you." _Where the fuck did that come from…?_

"I'm still me…" Hanamura mumbles to himself. "Dammit… It hurts to face yourself…" he admits with a pained expression. He then turns to his shadow and walks to it, "I knew it wasn't lying… But I was so ashamed that I didn't want to admit it…" Hanamura stops in front of his shadow and looks it in the eye, "You're me… and I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me."

The shadow stares at Hanamura for a moment before nodding. Soon it is enveloped in blue flames, as the flames recede a tall man in a white body suit and long red scarf remains. The man resembles the shadow's human torso except this time its hands hold giant shurikens and on its neck, hangs a golden "V" marked to look like a giant jagged smile. It looms over Hanamura before slowly disappearing with its card falling into Hanamura.

Hanamura looks at his hands in awe, "This is my Persona…" He turns back to us before squatting down, "When we heard Senpai's voice… I wonder if that was something Senpai had been keeping down inside…" He laughs self-deprecatingly, "… 'He was a real pain in the ass,' huh? What a way to find out… Geez, this is so embarrassing…" I walk over and stand in front of him, _Can I hit him…? I mean it's not like he doesn't have it coming… No… let him be…,_ apparently taking my approach as comfort he continues, "If you weren't here, I don't know what would have happened… Thanks, Yu."

"First name basis now, huh? Alright, don't mention it, Yosuke." I reply while pulling him to his feet.

After I help Yosuke up he looks over to Teddie, "Hey Teddie… Could Senpai have been attacked by her other self here? Like how it just happened to me?"

"I think so. The shadows here were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears, then they all go berserk and you saw what happens next. A strong-willed shadow draws others to it and the big mass of shadows kill the host." Teddie replies.

"So, that's why people die when it gets foggy in our world…" Yosuke says tiredly before sighing.

"Yosuke's pretty worn out… This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you here." Teddie says worriedly. He then looks around briefly before looking back at us, "I don't hear anymore voices, I think we're done with this place. Let's go back…"

The walk back was pretty uneventful. The majority of the talking was from Yosuke asking Teddie about how this world worked and Teddie giving undescriptive answers. I mostly kept to myself the whole time, not because I had nothing to say, but because I was just thinking about this place. _This place could be incredibly useful… However, screwing with something I don't understand will only lead to disaster. I'll start running experiments when L. gets here, she'll be able think of something…_

"Will you guys… come back here…?" Teddie hesitantly asks.

"We're coming back…" _This is too interesting to ignore_ … I say reassuringly.

"Then… will you keep your promise?" Teddie asks hopefully.

Yosuke smirks at him and says, "Well, you're the one who said you weren't letting us out unless we do…"

"Oh! Th-That's right! Okay, I'll let you out. But, there's one thing. I'll be waiting for you guys here. You need to come in the same place every time. So, we can meet up."

"Makes sense…" _Unfortunate, but understandable…_ I say.

"Got it… Alright, can you show us the way out?" Yosuke replies.

"Rodger that! One exit coming up!" Teddie then taps his foot on the ground causing three stacked TVs to appear out of nowhere.

* * *

After I changed Yosuke and I were, for the lack of a better word, groped out of the TV world only to be greeted by a distraught Satonaka. Despite me trying to calm her down, Yosuke effectively acted like a dunce, so she ran off. Yosuke and I decided to apologize to her tomorrow before we went our separate ways to rest.

Unfortunately, it was raining when I left, so I decided to cut through the flood plain to get 'home' faster. As I was walking I saw someone familiar under a small pavilion, when I investigated it turned out to be Amagi-san. After exchanging pleasantries, I sat down next to her.

"Interesting attire, especially due to the weather." I comment formally.

"Oh… Are your surprised to see me dressed this way? My parents sent me out on an errand…" She replies nervously.

"No, it suites you, it's just interesting."

Perhaps not expecting a compliment she pauses shortly, "Um… Are you getting used to your new town and school?"

"It's peaceful here… it's…" _insufferable…_ "… lovely"

"Really…?" She asks fascinated, "But… It must be difficult moving to a place you know nothing about. I've never been out of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer to a new school…" She rambles before sitting up a bit straighter, "Oh! Are you getting along with Chie? I mean, I always leave early, so… umm…"

"She can be a bit energetic at times, but I think we'll get along…"

"…She is always full of energy… Chie is always very supportive, you know. It's always her who gives me the little extra push that I need. We had homeroom together last year too, and I still remember how we'd cut class sometimes…" Seemingly, she sees that she is rambling once again, so she takes her leave.

 _They seem like… good friends…_

Soon enough, I find myself back 'home' with Nanako. Unsurprisingly, her father is late again due to Konishi-senpai's death as explained on the TV. Interestingly enough, Amagi-san also appears on the TV. She seems to have gotten the same reporter that Konishi got due to how off topic and weird he is. After that whole fiasco, I help Nanako with the dishes before turning in.

 _Well… today was… interesting…_ I think as I lumber around 'my room'. I grab the laptop that L. sent me and open it to the files section. _Let's see who's investigating me… I wonder if it's anyone I've heard of…?_

I finally find the correct folder and open up the case notes, I skim it a few times before my eyes land on the name of the investigator.

 _Shirogane…_

…

…

…

… _shit…_

* * *

 **Well, I think that ended up being a bit faster than I intended... Anyway, thank you all for the support and I'm sorry for the infrequent updates!**


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